1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wire rod cutting apparatus of a spring manufacturing machine.
2. Description of Related Art
In conventional, the following structure has been known as this kind of wire rod cutting apparatus.
There has been known a wire rod cutting apparatus of a spring manufacturing machine for manufacturing a spring by discharging a wire rod to a wire rod processing space provided in front of a front wall of a machine casing from a final wire rod guide provided in the front wall, and applying a predetermined process to the wire rod which is discharged to the wire rod processing space or is going to be discharged to the wire rod processing space, by a tool which protrudes or is protruding to the wire rod processing space, wherein the wire rod cutting apparatus comprises a slide which is slidably provided in the front wall in such a manner as to slide in the direction (vertical direction) orthogonal to a center line of a wire rod guide, a cutter mounting oscillating arm which is provided in the slide so as to freely oscillate by a pivot shaft having an axis directed to the longitudinal direction, and further comprises an actuating apparatus which slides the slide and oscillates the cutter mounting oscillating arm, or further comprises a slide driving apparatus which slides the slide and an arm driving apparatus which oscillates the cutter mounting oscillating arm (refer to Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-15635 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-115101).
Such conventional wire rod cutting apparatus slides the slide and oscillates the cutter mounting oscillating arm by the actuating apparatus, or by cooperation of the slide driving apparatus and the arm driving apparatus, and thus can set a locus of a leading end of a cutter mounted to the cutter mounting oscillating arm to a predetermined shape which is different between an outward route and a homeward route and is a line symmetrical and bulgy endless in a front view (as seen from a state of normally facing to the front wall).
The conventional wire rod cutting apparatus mentioned above has the following problems.
In order to cut the wire rod without “burrs” being generated, in the cutting process of the wire rod for forming the spring, it is necessary to adjust and change the locus (to adjust a shape and shift a position of the locus) of the leading end of the cutter (the endless locus) while taking into consideration a raw material of the wire rod, a diameter of the wire rod and the like. However, there is a problem that the conventional wire rod cutting apparatus can not easily adjust and shift the locus of the leading end of the cutter.
Also, the conventional wire rod cutting apparatus having the slide driving apparatus and the arm driving apparatus has a problem that failure easily occurs because its structure is complicate.